Relationship of Command: Blackhawks 4, Stars 3

The Blackhawks rally from three goals down as their unlikely winning streak reaches four games.

The Chicago Blackhawks came all the way back from being down by three goals to stun the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.

Even though the Blackhawks played the night before — and didn’t land in Dallas until well after 3 a.m. — the Stars were the ones to come out slow. They found their legs midway through the first though and quickly reminded the Hawks why they’ve been the best team in the Central this season by scoring two goals in 1:19.

After rookie goaltender Jaxson Stauber robbed Tyler Seguin in the slot, Seguin beat Patrick Kane in a puck battle along the wall, drove the lane and roofed one high to Stauber’s glove side to open the scoring.

A minute later, Jake McCabe made a bad pinch in the Dallas zone and, when Jason Dickinson failed to cover the point, it sent Jamie Benn and Denis Gurianov in on a 2-on-1 against Seth Jones. Benn kept it and beat Stauber five-hole for the Stars’ second goal.

Early in the second period, the Hawks were having all kinds of trouble exiting their zone and after an extended 1:30 shift, McCabe took a slashing penalty to give the Stars their second power play of the night.

After a clean faceoff win, Miro Heiskanen fed Jason Robertson, who froze Jason Dickinson with a shot fake. Then, as Dickinson drifted, Robertson used him as a screen to beat Stauber glove side for his 35th goal of the season and a 3-0 Dallas lead.

A Brett Seney tripping penalty — which saved a Roope Hintz goal — sent the Stars back to the power play but a Jamie Benn trip negated it and gave the Hawks a short 40-second power play of their own.

During the Hawks’ power play the puck squirted to Patrick Kane behind the net. Kane sent a saucer pass to Max Domi as he crept through the slot and Domi blasted a cross-body one-timer past Jake Oettinger for the Hawks’ first goal of the night.

Five minutes later, the Stars got a little too fancy with a drop pass at center ice and a Domi poke check sent him in on a 2-on-1 with Kane in which Domi was able to return the favor.

Two minutes after that, a Seth Jones feed sprung Kane and Philipp Kurashev for another 2-on-1 and Kane tapped it in for his second goal of the night.

In an eight-minute span Patrick Kane scored two goals, added an assist and tied the game up at 3-3.

Four minutes into the third period, a great individual effort by Domi broke the tie for good. Domi Blocked a shot at the point, chipped the puck off the wall to himself then raced in with Kane and used him as a decoy before beating Oettinger clean with a wrister.

For the second night in a row, there was some last-second drama as a Tyler Seguin shot beat Jaxson Stauber but it was immediately confirmed that the puck crossed the line after time expired.

Hawks win.

Notes

• The Blackhawks won the second game of a back-to-back for the first time this season and are now 1-8-1 overall in those games.
• So, Patrick Kane is on some kind of heater.

• With three points in this game, Patrick Kane has 10 points (7 G, 3 A) in his last four games. Max Domi also has 10 in his last four, just flip-flopped (3 G, 7 A). Their line with Philipp Kurashev took over the game halfway through the second period and was the only Blackhawks line with a positive shot share.
• If you’re very quiet and listen extra closely, you can still hear the sound of Andreas Athanasiou shots missing the net.
• Dallas has now lost their last five games in a row, with the last two coming against the Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets — two of the worst teams in the league. They’re currently one point ahead of Winnipeg for the lead in the Central and Colorado is coming at some point. They’ve definitely go to do something to bolster their chances and if I’m Kyle Davidson, I’m calling Jim Nill all day long tomorrow.
• Sometimes hockey is gonna hockey. The Blackhawks have now won four games in a row, with their last three victories coming against the teams with the fourth, seventh and eighth best overall records in the NHL.
• And speaking of things that make no sense, this team was specifically designed to lose and yet …

• Feb. 22nd is a crazy day in hockey history so happy anniversary to all those who celebrate the Miracle on Ice as well as David Ayres Day (somehow I don’t think Dave’s boy Steve Dangle will be celebrating).
• It’s also underage drinking/HOT FUZZ day as well.

Game Charts

Three stars

1. Patrick Kane — 2 goals, 1 assist
2. Max Domi — 2 goals, 1 assist, GWG
3. Philipp Kurashev — 1 assist

What’s next

The Blackhawks head to San Jose to take on the Sharks on Saturday at 9 p.m.